John Calvin Commentary Genesis 3:17

"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;" — Genesis 3:17 (ASV)

And unto Adam he said. First, it should be observed that punishment was not inflicted upon the first of our race so that it rested on those two alone, but was extended generally to all their posterity, so that we might know that the human race was cursed in their person. Next, we observe that they were subjected only to temporal punishment, so that, from the moderation of God's anger, they might entertain hope of pardon.

God, by stating the reason why He punishes the man in this way, removes from him any grounds for murmuring. For no excuse was left to him who had obeyed his wife rather than God; indeed, he had despised God for the sake of his wife, placing so much confidence in the deceptions of Satan—whose messenger and servant she was—that he did not hesitate treacherously to deny his Maker.

But, although God deals decisively and briefly with Adam, He nevertheless refutes the excuse by which Adam had tried to escape, in order to lead him more easily to repentance. After He has briefly spoken of Adam’s sin, He announces that the earth would be cursed on his account.

The ancient interpreter has translated it, ‘In your work;’ but the reading should be retained with which all the Hebrew copies agree, namely, the earth was cursed on account of Adam. Now, as the blessing of the earth means, in scriptural language, the fertility that God instills by His hidden power, so the curse is nothing other than the opposite, a deprivation, when God withdraws His favor.

Nor should it seem absurd that, because of man's sin, punishment should overflow to the earth, though innocent. For as the primum mobile rolls all the celestial spheres along with it, so man's ruin drives headlong all those creatures that were formed for his sake and had been made subject to him.

And we see how constantly the condition of the world itself varies in relation to mankind, according to whether God is angry with them or shows them His favor. We may add that, strictly speaking, this entire punishment is exacted not from the earth itself, but from man alone. For the earth does not bear fruit for itself, but so that food may be supplied to us from its depths.

The Lord, however, determined that His anger, like a deluge, should overflow all parts of the earth, so that wherever man might look, the atrocity of his sin would meet his eyes. Before the fall, the state of the world was a very beautiful and delightful mirror of God's favor and fatherly kindness toward man.

Now, in all the elements we perceive that we are cursed. And although (as David says) the earth is still full of the mercy of God (Psalms 33:5), yet, at the same time, clear signs of His dreadful alienation from us appear; and if we are unmoved by these, we betray our blindness and insensibility.

But, lest sadness and horror overwhelm us, the Lord sprinkles tokens of His goodness everywhere. Moreover, although the blessing of God is never seen as pure and transparent as it appeared to man in his innocence, yet, if what remains is considered in itself, David truly and properly exclaims, The earth is full of the mercy of God.

Again, by ‘eating of the earth,’ Moses means ‘eating of the fruits’ that proceed from it. The Hebrew word עצבון (itsabon), which is translated as pain, also means trouble and fatigue.

In this context, the term stands in antithesis with the pleasant labor in which Adam previously so engaged himself that, in a sense, he could be said to be playing; for he was not formed for idleness, but for action. Therefore, the Lord had placed him over a garden to be cultivated.

But, whereas in that former labor there had been sweet delight, now servile work is imposed on him, as if he were condemned to the mines. Yet the harshness of this punishment is also lessened by God’s clemency, because some enjoyment is blended with human labors, so that people might not be altogether ungrateful, as I will explain further when commenting on the next verse.